A funny thing happened on the way to the playground...
ASK most young boys to swap their football or computer games for a chance to perform standup and they would think you were having a laugh.
But for eight-year-old Tom Beveridge, doing a comic turn at the Edinburgh Fringe is all he has ever dreamed about.
And he was set to get his chance last night as he and his older brother Jack, ten, prepared to take the stage as the warm-up act – for their mother.
Although the task would terrify most adults, professional stand-up Harriet Beveridge insists her sons were desperate to get on stage for their debut and is confident they would be able to handle hecklers.
Mrs Beveridge, 42, from Bath, is performing with her boys at the Mint Studio in the city’s Infirmary Street with a school-friendly start time of 6.30pm.
She admitted there were likely to ‘quite a few jokes about poo’.
Mrs Beveridge said: ‘I hate those pushy mums on Britain’s Got Talent. I have never been one but they really wanted to do this and go on stage. This will be their first ever show. I am nervous for them but I think they will do great.
‘They already write some of my jokes for my show, and of course I always credit them with the joke.’
Asked whether she’s worried hecklers will cause a problem, she replied: ‘The venue at Greenside is very friendly and I don’t think that will be a problem but if there is any I think they will definitely be able to handle it.’
Tom, in particular, seems to have inherited his mother’s comic DNA and wants to become a stand-up comedian.
And while Jack says he was ‘roped into it’, Mrs Beveridge can see her sons forming a comedy duo. She added: ‘I don’t know where they get their jokes from. Tom is very observant about the world and picks up on things, he has a quick wit.’
School friends cannot believe what the pair are doing. Tom said: ‘I wrote to Blue Peter to tell them that we were going to do this then they gave us a badge.’
Jack replied: ‘I was sort of roped in to this but I kind of wanted to do it as well.’